Lydford Law

An old English proverb ran that at Lydford they hanged and drew a man first and heard his case afterwards. A Devonshire poet, quoted by Chambers, tried to argue that the summary justice came from mercy, since Lydford’s prison was so wretched that a night in it was worse than death. Lydford was the chief town of the Stannaries, and Chambers thought the saying was probably aimed at the quick decisions of the Stannary courts, which dealt with almost every case involving the tinners.